Can you hear it?
by Aralain
Summary: There is so much about each other that we don't see or hear or feel. Members of the Order of the Reader are a different type of shinobi. Able to communicate through the emotions and inclinations of others, they interact on a different level. What will happen when one becomes a Third Level, when one transcends the boundaries that traditionally limit her comrades. Gai/OC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: nothing from Naruto is mine, but I have created Jin and am very proud of Jin.

This was a very difficult story to write due to the limited dialogue and after the first couple chapters, you will know why it had to be written in this fashion. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think.

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_ Dark black eyes scanned the small area waiting for something, anything to happen. She closed her eyes, feeling everything in the world around her. Her ears were sharpened, and the small silver piece over her left ear caught the light, sparkling in the dullness around her. Suddenly a kunai came whirling at her. She dove to the side, performing hand symbols quickly as she rolled over her right shoulder and to her feet again. It was a jutsu she had never performed before. She threw her hands forward sending out a wave that made the trees draw back, a few breaking from their roots until they found their target with a loud cry of pain. Her eyes narrowed and the world around her flashed brightly._

_ As she winced, a sharp pain dug into her stomach. She dropped to a knee, blood flowing over her fingers as she pressed her hands to the wound trying to stop the blood flow. Another pain hit her, in the shoulder this time, then directly in the chest, followed by another in her stomach._

_ Blood bubbled out through her lips and she looked up, to find her face reflected in a pool before her, but it was simply her eyes, floating below. Blood dripped in the pool and sunk slightly, spreading until it all became blood, blood flowing down the river where others, others like her, with faces she didn't know, were lying along the side of the water, all with blank unseeing black eyes, seeming to search for something, hope for something that wasn't there._

_ She fell to the side, looking up at a dark sky, stars dancing beautifully for them, just for them. The moment's peace faded moments later as the stars became red and they began to fall around them. A man stood above her. He took a kunai and came down hard, going in to finish his kill with one sharp attack._

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Jin sat up sharply, breathing hard and clutching her stomach, as if that pain were still there. '_Dream_,' she thought. '_Only a dream_,' she thought with more certainty the second time, still trying to catch her breath. She looked around the apartment, dark and empty as it had been when she fell asleep the night before, after that mission. She pushed the thin blanket off of herself, standing on wobbly legs. She placed a hand to her forehead. She had used too much, way too much.

Shaking her head to try and rid herself of the pain, she reached up, unzipping her green jacket and sliding it off her bare arms, setting it on the bed. She grabbed the hem of her green sleeveless shirt and pulled the stretchy material over her head. She slid her black leather fingerless gloves off of her hands and placed them beside her other items. Sitting on the bed again, she unwrapped her legs from her calves to her feet, placing the wrappings beside the shoes she had taken off the night before and removing the long black pants. She walked to the next room, reaching down and turning on the water, before removing her undergarments and stepping under the warm stream. She allowed the water to run down her body first, rinsing away much of the dirt and blood from the many shinobi she had slain.  
With a sigh, Jin placed her hands against the wall of the shower, her forehead slowly following. She turned the water hotter, wincing as it kicked in. She opened her eyes, looking dully at the white before her. She let her hand slide off the wall leaving a smeared handprint of dirt, and stepped back slightly, looking directly into the hot water that she had quickly adjusted to. She poured some soap into her hand and rubbed it into her grimy black hair, watching the blood that hadn't yet washed away gather in the bottom of the shower. She had already been healed or there would likely be a lot more of it.

Jin finished quickly, the sight of the blood setting a churning in her stomach more than usual, and dried off in much the same fashion, opening her drawer to display shinobi uniform laid beside shinobi uniform, all in perfectly neat piles. She started a fire and threw the dirty clothes into it, watching them burn away before laying out the clean clothes on her bed reverently.

The items were all exactly the same and she put them on in exactly the opposite order, taking a moment to take in each of her new scars from her latest mission. She wrapped her feet up to her knees slowly, wrapping her arms before pulling on her fingerless gloves. After adding her hidden weapons she placed her weapons pouches: one at her left hip and the other her right leg. She walked to the dresser, tying her long hair back tightly then wrapping it around itself and stabbing a senbon through it, then another the opposite direction. They were effective weapons when she was in a difficult situation. Then her hand closed around the most important item in her entire uniform. Her black eyes steeled the moment she tied her red hitai-ate across her forehead.

Jin walked to her small kitchenette and looked inside the fridge. It was completely empty save the condiments and a half gallon of what she was sure was sour milk. She shook her head, closing the door and backing away. She turned, opening a cupboard. She'd need this mission's pay today or she'd have to starve, but that meant presenting her report to the hokage, something she was not looking forward to. She gritted her teeth together, knowing that she might as well face it now rather than later. It was her duty.

She had had the foresight to lock her scrolls away before going to bed the night before, even if she hadn't changed out of her clothes. She unlocked the drawer to her dresser and opened it, removing her two scrolls along with an extra. She slid them each into one of the six pouches, then reached for her set of blank scrolls, securing them in the others, satisfied that they were not as they had been the night before.

Jin closed her eyes, collecting herself before walking to her doorway and stepping out into the hallway. She nodded with a small smile to the woman who lived next door and her young son who stared at Jin in awe from behind his mother's legs. She smiled. "Good morning, Jin-san," the lady said, kindly.

Jin dug her hands in her pockets, and began her walk down the hallway, then down the stairs until she finally reached the bottom level and stepped out into the fresh air and sunlight that had been blocked out of her apartment by dark heavy curtains. She blinked a few times before continuing. She lived very close to Hokage Tower and set out for there in no real hurry. She was used to being hungry, that came along with years of being a shinobi.

"Oh, Jin-san, please go right in," Shizune said, when she saw her in the hallway. Jin nodded her head in understanding, proceeding on down the hall and turning into the hokage's office. Tsunade was looking out the window, her chin resting in her hand, her elbow on the desk. She didn't turn when the kunoichi entered her office.

"You accomplished your mission," Tsunade said, darkly. Jin unhooked one of her scroll-carriers in a flash and caught the scroll that dropped from it, placing it on the hokage's desk.

"I don't need that," Tsunade said, glancing back at what she knew was the report with distaste. "Kaoru?" Tsunade asked, looking back at her finally. Jin bowed her head, bobbing it once.

"The last of your chuunin team..." Tsunade whispered, more to herself than anything. Jin's team... they had been one of the first that Tsunade had truly had a hand in raising. She had become hokage the year that Jin had been made a chuunin and had, of course, chosen which specialties best suited the squad.

Jin had stood a cut above the rest, being focused and determined, not to mention having a particular skill that many would kill for and inevitably misuse anyhow. Tsunade had placed her with the two chuunin that knew her best and that would inevitably help her grow. Everyone had expected great things from Kaoru especially in the past couple years. He had, along with Jin, improved dramatically. Since their other teammate's death, they had grown together and spent much more time improving themselves so it would not happen again, yet here she stood, the last of a genin team who had been marked for ultimate success.

Tsunade looked at the young special jounin standing before her desk, head still bent, dark bangs shadowing her eyes. The sanin felt a pang of guilt. This girl... how she seemed to keep surviving these missions this past year was beyond her. By all rights, she should have never been able to get back to the village, let alone return having dragged one half-dead teammate along, lugging the body of her now-deceased best friend.

"Go on, Jin," Tsunade said, somberly. "Go be with your friends. That's an order." Jin looked up, meeting the hokage's gaze before nodding her head, understanding that she wanted Jin to take a break.

Jin left the hokage tower, her pay weighing down her pocket. She headed towards the academy. She looked around as she neared it, children running past her and shouting to each other, blissfully unaware of what was ahead of them, unaware of everything that was happening around them as well. She sat down when she reached a bench outside the academy, sitting and watching a group of children training. They were working on their taijutsu apparently.

Jin had wanted to be a jounin sensei when she was younger, but life had had different plans for her. She placed a hand on the thin silver ear piece, removing it with a soft click and wincing, screams and whispers invading her senses. She bore through it, staring down at the piece. It was so fragile and the seal written upon it was practically invisible to the naked eye, a mere dot along the glittering metal.

"Thought I'd find you here," a soft voice said. She frowned as the pain in her head grew one voice growing louder and louder. She lifted the silver seal again to her ear, replacing it with a tiny click. She looked up with a nod of recognition as her old friend Genma sat beside her, brown hair held down by the bandana tied in the front of his forehead. She slid aside a bit to allow him space beside her, as he worked the senbon between his teeth.

"Wanna talk?" he asked, with a slightly ironic smile. She snorted, shrugging. They sat there quietly, watching the kids for a short time. "I know how I felt when I lost Hayate, so if you want me to just stay at your apartment tonight, I..." She placed a hand on his arm and shook her head with a completely serious face. She didn't need him there. He had much more important things to do and she was a grown kunoichi. She didn't need to be looked after. Even if she had wanted it, it was not Genma she wanted, though she knew it hurt him to know that. She smiled at him. It was good to know that he was there if she needed him.

She tapped her headband and then directly below her left eye obviously pointing to it. He shrugged. "He doesn't know yet," Genma said, obviously understanding. She brushed her bangs and tapped her right eyebrow. "He doesn't know either. Only Raido, Shizune, and the Hokage," he told her. "The jounin are to report an hour past noon with the exception of those injured. The hokage wants you present." She nodded knowing he was speaking of Hyuuga Neji, the third member of the team her friend had been leading when he was killed. Hyuuga was being kept against his will at the hospital until he was completely recovered. He had had a concussion the night before, so they had made him stay the night.

"Your brother would probably want to hear it from you," Genma murmured.

She lowered her head slightly, a deep, horrible pain sneaking its way over her again. She crossed her arms in front of herself, resting them on her hips as that terrible pain threatened to consume her. Kaoru's face seemed to lurk just behind her eyes, waiting to pull her down in the worst, most unexpected moment. She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced at Genma, before shaking her head and standing. She had to leave, to get away from him. It hurt him and she knew it. Even their missions together had become difficult for him. She couldn't let this heartache weaken her and let her hurt him once more. She brushed off his hand and bowed to him, before turning and walking away.

Jin looked around, wondering which way would be best. She looked up at the sky as she walked, not concerned with the near empty streets that she chose to walk down. As the sun rose higher and higher, she simply continued walking, not wanting to stop, not wanting to see anything really. She wanted to be numb, to not feel nauseous every step she took, to not feel like the air was so thick or that the world was closing in around her. She had had two people in her life that she had ever chosen to really become close to and now... now they were both gone. She still had people that she loved, people that loved her, but it was harder to see that in the wake of her lost

The sun had already passed over her head before she stopped walking. She looked down at her feet, lowering her shoulders. Her small hands clenched into fists and she turned heading the other direction. Her steps were swift, steady, and sure. Her feet led her down familiar streets, taking her to rooftop shortcuts when necessary until a few moments later she stood nearly halfway on the other side of Konoha, soft grass beneath her feet.

She watched the dark-haired shinobi training, their green suits staying with their every expert movement. She noticed the weights that were containing their movements, the only reason they were even visible to the naked eye. She stood in the shadow of a tree, leaning against it slightly. "Not quite young pupil!" the elder shouted, a smile of excitement on his face.

Tears welled in her eyes. She had not cried since she set foot in Konoha the day before and she really didn't want to now. She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head as tears found their way down her face. She brushed them aside, turning from the two green beasts of Konoha, arms crossed. Her shoulders shook slightly as she swallowed the rest of her tears, before turning again to see a big-eyed, excited face a few inches before hers. She stepped back quickly, making a pitiful attempt at a smile.

"Niichan?" the normally thrilled voice fell flat as it reached her ears. She smiled, slightly.

"Neji-kun?" her brother's voice asked, breathlessly. She shook her head, slowly, tears slipping down her cheeks again.

"Kaoru-san," he said, with more grim certainty. She nodded.

"Lee?" a voice called from the other side of the clearing. "What is it?" he asked. "Who has hurt, Jin-san? I shall of course beat them into the ground without mercy! They shall suffer greatly for each tear upon her lovely face!" She looked up to Gai, but she was not the one to answer.

"Kaoru-san is..." Lee muttered. She felt her younger brother's strong arms come around her and pull her into a tight embrace. She stiffened for a moment, eyes meeting the somber pair belonging to her brother's sensei and father figure. She glanced sideways at her brother, before relaxing and hugging him in return, closing her eyes and tucking her head against his shoulder. The sweat didn't bother her. She just... she really needed her brother and he was there. He was always there for her more so since he had become a shinobi, more than she could ever repay. She felt a warm hand on her back, and glanced back to see Gai looking down at her. He looked up at the sun. She nodded, before stepping away from her brother.

"I will be waiting outside the hokage tower," Lee said, as he removed the weights from his wrists. She looked again to Gai, and they took off towards the tower. She was certain she wouldn't want to face the hokage if she should miss the meeting. She already had to deal with the other shinobis' condescension due to her silence. She didn't wish to bring attention to herself by seeming too weak to face what all shinobi had to, didn't want to prove once more why she was special jounin, why she would never be able to go up to full jounin.

She walked into the room, Gai holding the door, as he walked in closely behind. She went to stand to the side of the room, where many shinobi were already standing. Gai followed, taking a place directly beside her. She smiled sadly, noticing how he stood closer to her than he would usually. She stepped towards him once more, sinking into his shadow. If she even shifted, she was likely to bump into him.

Jin looked up at him, glad to have such a friend. She had always appreciated Gai for all he had done for her brother. He had looked after Lee when Jin had not been able to fully understand how to. Her brother, only five years her junior should have been so easy to understand, but she was embarrassed that she never could. Jin had never been a taijutsu type, though she had never been below the curve in much of anything. She was very fast, fast enough to lay hands on someone which was usually all she needed, but her taijutsu skills had grown much more recently. Back then, she hadn't been very strong.

Her parents had trained her to be a shinobi since she had been able to walk or so she'd been told. She didn't remember much of her parents. Her brother had received the same training, but no one had never understood why their lessons in chakra specification did not work with her brother. She had taught him what taijutsu she had known, but she could never have imagined all that Gai-sensei could teach him, dangerous and scary techniques, but enough to allow Lee to become the shinobi he had always dreamed of being.

'_Arigatou, Gai-san_,' she thought, to herself. He looked down at her, as if he had felt a small tug and she smiled sadly to him. He returned it, but instead of giving her that patented thumbs up, he placed a strong hand on her shoulder, gripping it supportively which surprised her. A jolt went through her at the contact and she shuddered at the sensation. The touch was brief but to Jin it meant more than Gai could or would ever understand.

She looked around, seeing that with the addition of Ibiki they were all there, all the current jounin in the village that were not exclusively ANBU black ops, with the small exception of Neji. She kept her head slightly bent as those who knew of her team's mission and noticed she was the only one left began to piece together what had happened. Many looked at Gai as well, as if seeing his expression would tell what had happened to Hyuuga Neji.

"I've called you all here to tell you something... something that will impact this village very much. "We lost a very powerful, talented shinobi yesterday and we are lucky to not have lost two more. Ichibi Kaoru."

"Kaoru-san, how?" a shinobi demanded from the back. Whispers cut through the entire group, and eyes shot to Jin, who kept her head down, and bit her lip as if it would wake her from this nightmare that she couldn't escape.

Jin took a small step towards Gai. He glanced down at her, but didn't move away, as she was now standing with her smaller body flush against his side, her arms wrapped around herself protectively. Tsunade looked at her seriously and Jin nodded her consent. Tsunade then nodded to Shizune, who held a clipboard in her hand.

Shizune stepped forward, holding the clipboard to her chest and speaking softly, "Ichibi, Rock, and Hyuuga were caught in the middle of an ambush three platoons strong on their return after completing their mission. Ichibi and Rock fought their way out, Ichibi's chakra supply had been severely depleted, Rock-san was already injured, a wound nearly three days old by the time she reached Konoha, a day from the ambush sight," Shizune nodded in Jin's direction when she said that. "Hyuuga had fallen behind and been cut off from the team. Rock and Ichibi went back for him and the rest..." Shizune shook her head. "Ichibi Kaoru gave his life for a comrade. He died an honorable death, worthy of his family and this village."

There was a deep silence. "Hyuuga-san?" someone asked, softly.

"He'll be fine," Tsunade said. There were nods throughout the room, but most eyes still drifted towards the small special jounin standing meekly in Gai's protective shadow, her shoulders slumped, head bowed. She looked nothing like the fierce warrior many of them had seen her to be.

"Rock Jin, stay behind. I need to speak with you," Tsunade said, watching as Gai ducked his head and muttered something in her ear. She nodded distantly, placing a small hand upon his arm for the briefest moment before he turned, following the others. Tsunade's amber eyes locked on the kunoichi as she walked in front of her, bowing shortly.

"Shizune," Tsunade said. Shizune gave her a confused look, before leaving with TonTon on her heels.

"Does anyone know now, other than your brother... how quickly you're going through the seals?" Tsunade asked. Jin nodded slowly, running her hand across her forehead, accompanying it with a half-hearted thumbs up. "Gai then," Tsunade interpreted. "Genma says he saw you take it off. You can feel with it on. I thought... doesn't it hurt you when..." Jin held out her hand to the Tsunade who frowned, then took it.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she felt a mixture of strange feelings, but it was as if she was feeling them from outside of her body, as if everything was exposed through this vessel of emotions. It was a strange feeling. Her eyes narrowed as Jin reached up, hand resting on the silver object over her ear. The girl paused, giving the hokage time to pull away if she wanted. Tsunade readied herself.

The girl gripped her hand tightly then with a small click, removed the silver piece. Tsunade cried out, hand clenching Jin's tightly, to keep herself connected. The hokage's awesome strength caused cracking and snapping sounds from her smaller hand, but Jin did not pull back. Tsunade tried to experience what the girl experienced every day without that seal. She needed to feel it. Jin suddenly yanked her hand from the hokage's and Tsunade stumbled back, raising a hand to her head in wonder at the pain. Jin raised a hand and replaced the seal piece.

"That..." Tsunade tried to grasp the words. Jin shrugged. The hokage reached out and took Jin's hand once more, this time to simply heal the damage from her inhuman grasp. Once she was done, Jin simply continued to stand in silence, facing the hokage. Tsunade knew she was waiting to be dismissed. Tsunade waved her hand consenting to the girl's departure.

Jin stepped outside the door, placing her hands to her temples, willing away the pain. She let out a soft groan, leaning back against the wall, crouching, and tucking her chin to her chest. The pain was almost overwhelming. It became worse the more she exposed herself to it she knew, but some things had to be done. She felt a pair of large hands on her thin arms and raised her head to see Gai on one knee before her. She lowered her arms with the guidance of his to look him directly in the face.

"Your friend did not die in vain," he told her. '_The sacrifices of the fallen will be forever remembered_.' She nodded lowering her eyes, then looked up again sharply in confusion. He held out a hand, which she took her whole body humming with the simple contact. She was pulled to her feet by the strong man, who steadied her with his free hand for a moment. '_First Jiro and now Kaoru. She is very strong to keep going, an incredible determination she passed on to her youthful brother. I do not know what I can do to help._'

"You are a remarkable shinobi Jin-san. I will do all I can to aid you in the shadow of such a tragedy," he told her. She noticed he was speaking again, not... thinking?

Jin pulled her hand back from his sharply. She shook her head, bowing her head in apology before running off. She ran down the stairs and out into the streets, continuing until she reached her apartment and slammed the door behind her. Individual uninterrupted intelligent thought... something that only. Something that... Master Daichi could do. He was the man who had started the order in Konoha so many years before, connected to her as a very distant great great great uncle.

She tried to catch her breath, remembering the writings of Master Daichi. "It comes all at once. If you have the ability, then it will reach you at a time you least expect. It will invade your senses immediately and if the ability has awakened, it will be your duty to learn to wield it to the advantage of the village."

This was the third stage... Dokushinjutsu that had been reached by the line only once since Master Daichi himself and the Daichi scrolls had been sealed since his death. This was something she had never thought would awaken in her, not even when she had been taken under Matsu-sensei's wing when she was six years old. Most had thought the young prodigy Matsu would be the next third level. Why her? Why now? Why was it all happening now?

Jin looked up at the ceiling letting out a scream of frustration. There was a pounding on her door. She pounded it back once, and it was kicked in. She should had known from her brother. She wished to engage him in a fight, every muscle in her well-toned body coiled to strike, but her good sense overruled her need to vent her frustrations. Fighting Lee would accomplish nothing. '_What in the world is going on?_' Lee's internal thought invaded her mind and she looked away from him.

"Jin-chan?" he whispered. She shook her head then waved her hand in an invitation. He placed her door back where it belonged, giving her an apologetic look. She shrugged, finding that if she tried hard enough, she could force out his thoughts, though they still whispered to her trying to weasel their way into her mind. She fixed some tea, his concern amplified from what she could feel before her meeting with the hokage. Everything was more powerful.

Jin closed her eyes and suddenly felt a wave of worry, stronger than she had ever felt from another person. She turned sharply in the direction it came from, eyes meeting the wall that led to her neighbor Yori-san. Her husband had been away on mission for a few weeks and while Jin could pick up on it when they passed in the hall, she hadn't felt something like this, especially from a different room. She had never experienced such intensity.

"Jin? Are you all right?" Lee asked, standing quickly when he saw that movement. She glanced at him and felt his grief and worry overcome her. She shook her head, her own grief mixing with his, intensifying to a point she had never thought she could feel. Her head felt too heavy, stomach turning over and over. She didn't know what happened, but suddenly everything was dark.

To be continued...

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Thanks for reading. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Rock-san? Rock-san?" she heard again and again. She winced, but her pain was soothed by a strangely warm feeling. She opened her eyes to see a beautiful pair of blue-green eyes. '_Thank Heavens_,' the girl thought, which jolted her, but she understood quickly, remembered where she was and why she was there. The hospital... she had passed out.

"It was a good thing Lee-kun brought you here when he did," she said, with a very endearing smile. "You had some strange force placing an enormous amount of pressure on your brain's chakra network throughout your cerebrum. Lady Tsunade personally assessed it when you arrived." '_Not that she'd even take the time to look at our other patients. She had better things to do like drink sake and avoid her work_.'

Jin smiled weakly as she pushed herself up to a sitting position slowly. So this was Haruno Sakura who she'd heard so much about, beautiful and kind yet headstrong and opinionated. She held out her hand. Sakura looked confused for a moment, before shifting her clipboard to rest in her left hand and taking the offered hand, shaking it and saying that name that Jin had already guessed.

"You should be fine to leave in an hour or two. The hokage has requested a report on what caused this cerebral damage," Sakura said, with a smile. '_Ridiculous request when the poor woman probably doesn't know how it happened. Damn, selfish Hokage, always has to know everything at others expense_.' Jin snorted, then nodded in agreement, though Haruno Sakura knew nothing of that.

Jin turned and placed her feet on the ground, reaching for her clothes. "Hey! You've been unconscious three days! Take it easy will you?" Sakura exclaimed grabbing her wrist. Jin frowned and raised her hand with three fingers just to clarify. Sakura nodded. Jin sighed, standing and pushing Sakura's hand away. "But, you can't just..." Sakura frowned at her like she was crazy, but Jin simply began undressing. Sakura sighed and left the room.

'_Just like Lee. Too stubborn to even argue with_,' was the last thought that Jin caught before the girl left the room and closed the door behind herself. Jin thought for a moment, sitting back down. Three days, which made this Thursday. She glanced out the window. It was midday probably. She would have to take a while to figure this all out.

The hokage didn't need a report on what had happened and Jin didn't intend to write one. The hokage didn't need to know this... not yet. She wouldn't tell anyone, couldn't... not just yet. A wave of nausea rolled over her at the implication of what this was, what she was. She knew how much more responsibility came with this, how important this would be in her life, in the entire order's history.

Jin took her time getting dressed, her depression gnawed at her again. She reached for her vest and pulled it on, moving the scrolls. She reached in the pocket and pulled out a wrinkled old picture in a hidden pocket. She smiled down at the faces of her two teammates, now both gone where she couldn't follow. She left her jacket unzipped and opened the door to leave the room only to be almost ran over by Genma. She stepped aside easily and he went stumbling into her room.

She bowed her head to him, and smiled slightly, swallowing down her grief. "Ji-Jin-chan," he said, quickly hiding the white lilies in his hands behind his back. She smiled at him and he scowled at her in return.

'_Damn woman, making me stutter_,' she heard his internal grumbling. She pointed to the flowers and then herself with a questioning look, noticing the vase behind him was filled with the same fresh flowers, perhaps a day old. "No, no, Lee-kun... he sent me to give them to you. I mean, he said they make you happy, so I thought..."

'_Good, now I sound like a total ass_,' he thought. She shook her head in disagreement, taking the flowers when the held them to her and smiling to him in thanks. '_She seems to be taking it all well, considering it only happened a few days ago_.'

Jin felt her mood falter again, but forced the sadness away from her. When had Kaoru ever wanted her to feel less on his account? He was energetic and happy, never letting the world get him down. She knew that she should not let him down by acting like a horrid mess. She could do it... She could. She told herself that again and again as she walked from Genma, who just stood there, moving his senbon from side to side and thinking to himself.

She wondered how Genma had remembered her favorite flowers as she looked down at the beautifully chosen lilies. They had been very close once, but Jin had known that she could never return his feelings… not in the way he wanted at least. It had been only kind to communicate that to him and she had rather decidedly. Despite understanding her feelings towards him or lack thereof, her relationship with Genma was still complicated and even difficult at times. She stopped walking and glanced back at Genma, who had started walking behind her, seeming to be lost in thought.

She pointedly cut off anything he thought, drowning his thoughts with her own, knowing there had to be some boundaries. She couldn't stop them though, just think louder in a way. She wondered if there was another way. She would need to find it. Quickly. She looked at the sky. Maybe this had something to do with Kaoru's death. She tried to think of anything different that had happened in the battle, anything that had gone amiss. She hadn't been hit by any major jutsu.

Suddenly, Jin stopped walking. Genma stopped directly behind her, frowning in confusion. Jin looked directly into the younger face of Hyuuga Neji, who nodded to her with respect and thanks. If she hadn't gone back for him he'd be the one dead, not Kaoru. She knew that they would have both gotten away if they hadn't gone back. She could still have Kaoru. She couldn't help but wish somewhere deep down that she hadn't gone back for the Hyuuga, but that was in a dark and horrid place inside her, one she hoped no one would ever see. She knew that she could never have lived with that. She was frozen. "_Shinobi live and die for their comrades, but you should always weigh the pros and cons of saving one life over the life of another._" That was one of the first rules Matsu had taught her.

Jin swallowed. If she had done that, she would have known that she was putting two shinobi lives on the line for the life of one. Would she have done it differently? No... she couldn't have. Hyuuga Neji was a good shinobi and a loyal comrade. She never could have left him behind, not even to save her best friend's life. Though her decision cost her the life of a person she value greatly, she knew that she could not have made it differently. He was the squad leader and he had not told her to abandon her foolishness. He had followed her back willingly, ready to die for Hyuuga Neji.

Neji waved his hand to her and began walking down the street. She glanced back at Genma, who was now beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder as if to urge her on and she flinched as his thoughts forced their way into her mind. She couldn't drown them out, not when in contact. She felt his concern for her overwhelming. She could hear his confused musings about where Neji was leading them and if he should go with her. She took a step from him then turned smiling to him and waving to him before walking after Neji. He stayed. '_Something she has to do alone then_,' he thought as she walked away.

Her eyes locked on Neji, glad that his mind was remarkably clear, but the strange sense of pride and obligation that she didn't feel comfortable experiencing in such extreme waves surrounded her. There was a gripping cloud around him that she hadn't noticed before, a sadness masked by a sense of duty and long-standing oppressive feeling of sub-servitude. He turned and faced her when they were near Team Gai's most-frequented training ground. She could see Lee behind him, glancing over at them curiously, but obviously understanding that this was something he should not interrupt.

"Can you tell me why?" he asked softly, his voice a bit gruff. He couldn't meet her eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek gently, feeling strong sympathy for the young jounin. In a swift movement she had stepped to him and taken him in a tight embrace, holding on even as overwhelming emotions and a confused muddle of incoherent thoughts forced themselves through her.

She pulled back gripping his shoulder tightly still. She thought for a moment looking off to the side, before placing a hand to his headband then her own. She smiled then moved the same hand to cover his heart, letting go of his opposite shoulder to cover her own heart. She stared directly into his pale, confused eyes. Suddenly a clarity came to his and her smile widened.

'_Comrades_,' the word jumped forward to her, his thoughts finally coming together in that one word. She let her hand drop, sadness coursing through her as she thought of what she had lost to save the younger man before her. Her heart clenched, but the sight of her brother training with his mentor brought a bit of happiness to her, though it didn't counteract everything completely. She glanced back at Neji before jumping over to one of the training posts near the edge of the training ground. She sat atop it to watch Gai and Lee train. Neji stared at her for a short while before moving on.

Interested in what really went on in those two's minds while training, she focused her attention on them fully but a bit guiltily. '_Ha Gai sensei, you let your guard down to your right_.' Punch. Block. '_No my young pupil, that was too obvious an opening. You should not underestimate your opponent_.' Kick. Block. Punch. Hit! Lee when flying back. '_I'm not done yet Gai-sensei_.' Lee's eyes narrowed and he flipped to his feet going at Gai with speed that only her brother could muster after taking such a beating. His fist was caught, but he flipped around Gai's hand taking his feet from under him. '_Haha, nice LEE_!' Lee's foot was grabbed the second Gai hit the ground and Gai used his momentum to move to his feet once more and fling her brother across the training ground. '_Perhaps I should allow him to rest and spend time with Jin-chan_.' Gai's thought struck her as highly considerate. She smiled when he looked up at her.

She gave Gai a challenging look and with one push from the training post, she had come to her brother's aid, flickering in front of Gai for a moment before disappearing once more. He anticipated well however and spun. "KONOHA SENPU!" he shouted. She was smart enough to know that she couldn't walk into that attack, so jumped back, coming once again, concentrating hard. 'Right.' She went for his left hard, but he was very adaptive.

Lee cheered her on loudly and Gai as well. He seemed confused at whose side he should be on. She performed a series of hand symbols, summoning up the most powerful sadness she could, thinking only of Kaoru and Jiro. She finished the symbols and held her hands out to Gai who was now advancing on her, not knowing the jutsu she had performed. She maneuvered quickly, trying to catch hold of his wrist, a difficult task against such a taijutsu proficient. Instead, she ended up having to block, but she twisted her wrist so that her palm came into contact with his arm. He jumped back suddenly, feeling the pain and sorrow powerfully. He bent over with a grunt, tears coming unbidden to his eyes, but he pushed them back quickly. '_An interesting attack. I will be sure not to fall into such a trap again_.'

Suddenly, Gai disappeared completely from her sight. Though she was used to Lee's speed, she had always known Gai far surpassed her brother in skill and experience. She gasped as an arm came around her waist and her back hit the ground, cushioned slightly by a hand under her, but only for a moment, as her legs were tangled up by a stronger pair and her hands were held tightly, large hands closed around the back of hers, her previous jutsu rendered useless.

'_The beautiful kunoichi is defeated_,' Gai thought. She blinked, her cheeks reddening slightly, before she realized... defeated. His grip slackened and she made one hard push with chakra-infused strength and turned sharply, pinning him in much the same position. She gave him a challenging look. He laughed. Her smaller hands could not effectively immobilize the much larger ones of this man so she had employed a basic taijutsu grip upon his fingers which she released at the sound of his chuckle. She placed her hands upon his muscled chest, unable to remove herself from the mirth coming off of him in powerful waves.

Knowing she couldn't just sit on the poor shinobi forever, she pushed against his chest, placing her feet beneath her and taking hold of his hands, taking a few steps back, pulling him to his feet with her. It was amazing the powerful happiness that flowed from his hands directly into her, filling her with warmth and joy. She'd always known emotions could be a tangible thing, but she'd never experienced delight this strong..

"It's good to see you're back to good health," Gai said with heart-warming smile as Lee walked towards them

She nodded. "Sakura-san said you'd probably be there until Saturday, but I told her not my sister!" Lee exclaimed, grinning widely.

"We will treat Jin-chan to lunch, right Lee!" Gai exclaimed, with a thumbs up and a blinding smile. Jin shook her head at him while smiling, but Lee grabbed her around the shoulders and started pulling her down the street.

They headed straight for Ichiraku's. Jin was very glad of the distraction. She couldn't think of two better people to be around right now when she felt all the worlds complications trying to push their way to her notice as the empath abilities of the order were near overwhelming her. These two said what they thought for the most part which made it all that much easier. Her brother's presence would normally be calming enough for her, but his never-ending enthusiasm was now something she could almost taste in the air and she breathed it in like an addict. That enthusiasm was born in her through him.

She took a place between the both of them at Ichiraku's, waiting as Lee ordered for her, glancing to her for her acquiescence. She nodded in affirmation, before the other two ordered their own. Her head was throbbing and she didn't know if she'd be able to be up and about much more so she'd enjoy it now. Her vision was slightly hazy, but she didn't worry about it too much. It could happen with level two of dokushinjutsu so it would obviously occur with third level.

As they ate, Gai and her brother spoke of fighting techniques and she was content to just be in the middle of it. Lee agreed with everything Gai said for the most part but once argued a point which surprised her. She couldn't help the smile as Gai changed his opinion on the subject, conceding to Lee's idea. Lee really was progressing. She wondered where her time with her brother had gone. He was nearly eighteen now, and she, twenty-four. It was almost amazing to her how close he was coming to surpassing her even as a chuunin. She had different abilities however so that had to be taken into account.

She could still remember the day their parents realized that Lee could not follow her into the order. He had been four and they saw that he could not even perform as a regular shinobi. His dreams had been crushed, but he had pushed on, forcing his way through the academy then someone had come along to give him hope when she herself just didn't know how. She looked at the older man on her right, tears coming to her eyes as she watched the carefree jounin eat away at his noodles, completely unconcerned with the world around them. He was so happy. She couldn't help the small smile that found its way to her lips.

For all his insanity, Maito Gai was the one man she felt deserved her gratitude most out of anyone she'd ever met. He had taken her brother from nothing and turned him into the great shinobi he had always wanted to be, the shinobi he needed to be.

Then, barely five years ago, when Lee had made the decision on whether to have that operation. She... She couldn't advise him. She knew that she would never have given up being a shinobi, even for such low odds, but... she had selfishly wanted to keep Lee safe no matter what. She had wanted him to say no to that operation. She just loved him too much to gamble on his life. It was all she could do to keep herself from begging him not to do it because she knew that in his situation she would have agreed to the procedure just as he had.

Gai had been the one to help her accept what Lee was going to do and he was the one waiting with her while the procedure was being performed. Kaoru had held her hand through it all and Gai had been right there beside her as stressed as she had been. They'd both been with her when Tsunade had come out to tell them it was successful. Oh, how she'd cried. She was sure that neither Gai nor Kaoru had known what to do with her, but Gai just held onto her until her tears turned to laughter and all her stress washed away.

She looked at Gai again, her own food sitting before her almost untouched. He had finished his and was still talking taijutsu strategy with her brother, over her head, literally and figuratively. Honestly, sometimes she had no idea what they were talking about when they went into their taijutsu techniques and styles.

Gai looked down at her and asked if she didn't enjoy her ramen. '_Perhaps she does not feel well enough to eat. We must endeavor to put her in a more youthful mood_.' She was surprised to hear that thought break in. Not that she was surprised at the content, but that it had broken through her own thoughts. Then she noticed his hand on her back, she smiled and pushed the bowl towards him. She patted her stomach twice then gave him the patented "Good Guy" pose used often by the two green beasts as well as Uzumaki Naruto she heard tell.

His eyes softened and he took the bowl, his emotions of gratitude and happiness overwhelming his independent thoughts, which she found herself thankful for somehow. She felt like she was invading everyone's privacy by hearing their thoughts. His gentle eyes grew that fire once more as Lee challenged him to a run around Konoha. Their exclamations of who would win ended quickly when they were cut off by a loud voice behind them.

"Gai-sensei! You have a mission!" a voice called behind her. She looked around her quickly to see Uzumaki Naruto, popping his head through the curtain. She considered him calmly, comfort radiating off him in waves, not his own emotions though, just a feeling he gave. Naruto had a habit of putting off unusual emotions. He put those around him at ease. She was pretty sure it had something to do with his Nature Chakra abilities, but she'd never fully figured it out.

"Are you Rock Jin?" he asked, his eyes lighting with curiosity after he had handed Gai the mission scroll. She inclined her head, wincing at the pain still lingering there. "You are to follow Gai-sensei along with Sakura-chan and Neji-san."

"What about...?" Lee's smile faltered and sadness fell over him. Jin glanced at him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She smiled to him, kissed his cheek before hugging him.

'_Oh right! I know what the hokage was thinking. A mission will help her get back to normal for sure! There is nothing more liberating than a challenging mission!_' was Lee's excited thought as she pulled away.

Gai handed Jin the scroll, his eyes seeming to be darker than before he had received it. She frowned and unrolled it, her eyes hardening. It was a recovery mission, her specialty. A set of forbidden scrolls had been taken from the special section of the Konoha library. She looked at the shinobi on the list though Naruto had already said their names, her brow furrowing. There were two other jounin: Maito Gai and Hyuuga Neji as well as a chuunin, a healer named Haruno Sakura. She had met them all before, been on a mission with both Gai and Neji, but it was strange to send three jounin on a recovery mission that didn't involve personnel.

She gripped scroll tightly, wondering how or why the hokage had called on her a few hours after she'd gotten out of the hospital. She would have waited for recovery to send someone on such an important mission. Kakashi-senpai or Kurenai-san would have been called in instead. That was... unless it had something to do with readers. She wondered what could have been taken. 'The Daichi Scrolls.' Her eyes widened. Someone had taken a scroll of the great Master Daichi. She pushed the scroll into Gai's hands and took off for Hokage Tower, knowing that he'd be right behind her.

Jin frowned when she saw the shinobi present in the Hokage's office through the window she'd been about to jump through. '_Matsu-sensei_,' she thought, seeing him being scolded harshly by the head of the Readers, a man who had never even taken the vow himself. She had never and could never respect that man. He was not willing to even go to the second level as a Reader.

Her hands clenched as she backed away, bumping into someone. She turned sharply to see Gai standing there, looking very somber, his eyes looking past her at the scene in the hokage's office. Matsu couldn't even open his mouth in response to the man's criticism due to his vow that gave him the second level of their dokushinjutsu.

"You don't want to go in there, Jin-san," he said, darkly. "We'll leave the village in ten minutes. Only one could have been taken, you understand. They would not have had time to collect all three."

She nodded her head. His voice filled her mind and she winced, but listened because there was nothing else she could do. '_If we are too late, one of Konoha's greatest secrets will be up to the highest bidder. That means we cannot be late. That means we must use all our strength to reach them before something like that happens_.' She watched as his thoughts brought a harsh determination to his dark eyes. She nodded, turning in the direction of her apartment. She glanced back at Gai as he spoke aloud. "Yosh! We are sure to show those thieves what happens when you pick a fight with Konoha, the greatest shinobi village in the entire world!" he cried, giving her a bright confident smile and thumbs up.

She found herself glad for his optimism. He even tried to think optimistic. She knew she had seen more of his serious side than most, but that didn't mean that that smile had any less encouraging an effect.

She headed straight for her apartment, trying to ignore the pounding of her head. She knew it wouldn't go away, not now. According to Master Daichi's writings, it only ceased when one completely mastered the art of higher reading. This move from reading feelings and intentions to reading actual thoughts was the most extreme step a Reader could take, as well as the most painful.

She found herself glad that Gai would be leading this mission, because there may come a time when she'd need him. The pain was almost unbearable, but she was a shinobi and she knew she wouldn't die from this kind of pain, unless it were to interfere in her fighting which wasn't likely. For now, she just had to prepare.

As Jin walked to the gate, she noticed Gai standing waiting for her, along with Neji and the pink-haired healer she had met many times before, Haruno Sakura. She walked to Gai's side, looking at the others. "Rock-san, your chakra is draining from you," Neji muttered. She looked at him. '_And into Gai's mind_,' he thought.

She simply stepped closer to Gai, hoping he would not see the thin chakra connections between herself and the other two. Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

'_You've done enough already Jin-san_.' "If you're not going to be able to retain your chakra, you should not go on this mission. You will only be a hindrance," Neji reminded her, his outward voice in stark contrast to the compassionate thought that preceded it. She shook her head, pointing to her empty scroll pocket and then directly to her face. He nodded coolly.

"This mission is for Jin-san's order. She is the one person who does need to be here, Neji," Sakura said. "You know that very well."

'_Matsu-sensei was the keeper. We cannot let him down_,' Jin thought softly.

Gai's head jerked down in her direction. She stepped away from him quickly, eyes widening. She had heard an echo of her own thought, in him. "_No! No no no! Impossible!" _she thought quickly.

"Was that- you-" Gai began, incredulously. "Did you just speak?"

Neji and Sakura gave him confused looks while Jin walked the few steps out of Konoha's gate and stared ahead expectantly. "Jin-san," Gai said, a bit more firmly this time. She shook her head, eyes widening.

"That means you projected," he said in a softer voice.

"Projected?" Sakura frowned.

"You're a third level reader?" Neji asked suddenly. Gai stared at her as adamantly as Neji. Sakura just looked between them both in confusion.

"What's a third level reader?" Sakura frowned.

"Don't you only have three projection targets in your life?" Neji questioned. Gai was staring at her.

Jin hadn't even known she could do that. She hadn't thought about it. This was something she'd wanted to keep secret. Now that was ruined. She was not trying to connect to Gai, though she supposed she had wanted Gai to be the one to express the thought that had slipped through her to him. His arm against her own had likely been the cause.

Did she want Gai to be her first projection target? She couldn't change it now. She looked over her shoulder at him to see him staring at her intently. She swallowed and started running in the direction she could feel the missing scroll. Every reader could feel their presence. They could practically taste their essence in the air they were infused with so much of Master Daichi's chakra.

She felt them catch up behind her, Gai allowing her to lead. Her head was throbbing and she placed her palm to her temple, wishing she could make their thoughts stop. Gai's were silent now, but the other two. Sakura kept wondering what a reader was and what was so special about the third level of that. She was confused about projection, something that Jin had only read about in books.

Neji however, knew a lot about Jin's order as well, more than he should as a matter of fact. One of his distant cousins was a member of the exclusive group. Only six active second level readers existed in the village and the rest of the order of seventeen were first level. Five second level with this new development and one third level, he supposed.

The first two levels could only dream of learning the secrets hidden in the lessons of the order or even more importantly what was in the Daichi Scrolls. The first level would pose the smallest threat because they would never be able to open one. It had to be a third level, but Neji didn't know who else was that strong… Still, that someone could get their hands on it was...

The scrolls hadn't been opened since the Master had died and it would take a powerful dokushinjutsu master to open that one now, someone who had at least reached the second level. Either their foes knew that and were capable of using them or they were amateurs who had no idea that they wouldn't even be able to open them let alone read what was in them. Since true readers were hard to come by, she was sure that they were the second option.

She pumped a minimal amount of chakra to her legs, wanting to go fast but needing to be cautious all the same. 'They're heading for the Earth country,' she heard. She stopped suddenly, glancing behind her in the direction of the Konoha then looking ahead. She knew there was a clan in the earth village led by a former member of their order a traitor to Konoha and the order itself from back in Master Daichi's time. Her blood ran cold as she realized where they'd be by now.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"The Village Hidden in Stone," Neji muttered, his eyes on Jin, watching for her reaction. Her eyes narrowed. When she took off from the branch where she now stood it cracked under the pressure. She pushed harder and harder, the trees blurring around her as she concentrated on making sure her feet hit branch after branch, pushing her shinobi speeds to their limit.

Neji activated his Byakuugan, keeping an eye around them. Gai's face hardened as they went after the kunoichi and Sakura was stunned. They all knew that the village hidden in stone was not on friendly terms with Konoha, but for them all to react like that there had to be more at stake. She wondered why that particular village would change anything. What exactly could have changed?

Sakura wasn't accustomed to these speeds, but she struggled along, trying to use as little chakra as possible to keep up with them. "They have crossed the border Jin-san," Gai said, softly. Sakura watched the girl turn, a strange look in her eyes before she swallowed hard, turning her determination forward and splintering yet another tree in her haste. Sakura maneuvered to catch her foot on a different tree branch.

"We can't cross the border," Sakura whispered to Neji, who nodded sharply, showing that he knew.

"What will they do with that scroll?" Sakura asked, looking at Gai, but his jaw only clenched.

"They will try to become full Readers," Gai said.

"What's a 'full Reader'," Sakura asked, almost sure she didn't want to know the answer to that.

"With that scroll and a significant amount of chakra and skill a second level Reader can wipe a shinobi's mind clean of everything, experiences, training, acquaintances. They could wipe your mind clean. In a third level's hands the scroll can demolish a person's entire sense of self, control them and enslave them, they can remake someone," Neji said.

"They can make someone forget everything?"

"Every moment of their lives, every memory, every small piece of a person. They could simply leave someone, not knowing anyone or anything, how to eat, how to speak," Neji said, morbidly.

There was an uncomfortable silence until Neji continued. "I was told that it once happened to Jin-san, a brain sweep. A shinobi from the earth country had come after the scroll before. He had reached the second level, but she had somehow been able to fight him from her mind. Her parents could not. Lee had been at the academy. They had not realized that Jin's family were not the keepers of the scrolls, but her sensei's reading line was. She would take the position of keeper only after her sensei's death. She was just a child."

Jin's fists tightened. "But, she knows Lee, she knows her parents?" Sakura whispered, palely.

"She knows she had parents, but I can remember them better than she can. All experiential memories before she became a genin are gone," Gai said. '_Had parents_' echoed in Sakura's head. So her parents were dead. She had never known that Lee's parents were gone, had never thought to ask anything about her strange-looking comrade, had never thought about his life. He seemed a completely different person to her now. Apparently there was more to these siblings and this strange order than she knew.

"So… there's a chance that the stone village shinobi who took the scroll is the same one who killed her parents?" Sakura murmured, looking at Neji who nodded his head sharply.

Neji and Gai stopped sharply as Jin stopped on a dime. She let out an angry shout and her fist slammed into a tree. Neji grabbed Sakura's arm to keep her out of the way of danger. The tree shattered where she had hit it and it fell. Her rounded shoulders were shaking, her knuckles bleeding. Small clear drops fell on the ground before her, but she was faced away from the others. Her breaths were unsteady, irregular.

She fell to her knees placing her forearm against the tree and her forehead to that. Neji held Sakura back when she went to go to her. Gai approached her slowly, a depth in those black eyes that threw Sakura off. She had never seen Gai so serious, his eyes gentle and caring. He reached Jin's side, crouching behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, sobbing softly.

"We will get him," Gai whispered. "We will, Jin-chan," he said. Sakura's eyes misting slightly. "I will never give up until he is done exploiting the abilities of your order, until your parents are avenged. You have my word." Jin turned quickly, falling into Gai's embrace, gripping the front of his chuunin jacket tightly, her face hidden in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, one of his knees dropping to the tree branch to steady them. He tucked his chin against the top of her head and ran his hands through her hair soothingly. Sakura could only stare in shock.

Jin reached up to her ear suddenly pushing Gai from her, hard. He flew off the branch and away from the tree, catching his feet on the next tree. Jin shouted in pain, falling to her hands and knees. Sakura's eyes went to her ear as something on it shattered, sending little silver pieces everywhere. She grabbed her head, pressing it to the branch beneath her.

"Damn it," Neji muttered, stepping in front of Sakura as a strange wave came off of Jin. He grunted as it hit him, and Sakura felt it as well. It seemed to rip through her mind. She screamed in pain and looked at Neji, knowing that he was taking the brunt of it, but he continued to stand between Sakura and the girl, whose skin had turned almost white. Her black eyes had become an icy blue, no pupil or iris in the center. They saw that when she opened them briefly before squeezing them shut and letting out another scream of pain. Gai was getting to his feet, moving towards her.

"Gai-sensei! You have to seal it," Neji said sharply. Gai's forehead furrowed and he continued to advance towards Jin, one step at a time, fighting through wave after wave of whatever was coming off of her. The reader raised a shaky hand and somehow got her jacket off. It plummeted to the ground below. Sakura watched in shock as she tugged at her green shirt, pulling it up to leave her mid-drift bare.

Gai reached into his weapons pouch, wincing against the pain. He suddenly ran at her, maneuvering quickly and pressing the seal to the small of her back. She let out a shout of pain before collapsing onto Gai's shoulder as he landed before her.

There was a laughing and Gai turned quickly, hanging onto Jin with one arm around her middle. "Impressive girl you have Gai-kun," a dark voice said. Gai turned and Sakura was shocked at the angry familiarity blazing in his eyes. She had never seen this enormous range of emotions from the Green Beast.

"I'm sure Kouji-sensei will love ravaging her mind. Won't break easily I see. That will make it all the more fun. A level two isn't going to be able to stand against him, though not this time. Kouji-sensei has one of the scrolls now. What does Konoha have? A few level two readers who can't even control their own ability bursts." Gai threw two kunai that slammed into the shinobi's chest. It disappeared in a poof, leaving a branch in its place.

"Replacement jutsu," Sakura murmured.

"He's already retreated," Neji growled.

"It is Kouji then... we were right," Gai muttered.

"You knew him?" Sakura asked.

"That man learned from the same sensei Jin's father did. He defected to Iwa after what his master had done to the Rock family. He is one of Kouji's _followers_, Mako," Gai muttered. "We have to get back to the village."

Sakura turned, following them as they both turned towards Konoha, Gai having moved Jin onto his back. She glanced behind them, knowing that Neji had an eye on their backs in case their enemies tried to attack once more.

She followed close to Gai taking Jin's hand to heal the knuckles as they ran, which was trickier than some could imagine, but she was not the hokage's assistant for nothing. She wondered what that silver piece had been. It had to have been something important, probably a seal since Gai had had to seal her right after it shattered.

Gai, however was dealing with something entirely different. Though he could see ahead of him and was aware of what was going on, he was also bearing witness to some sort of dream, or more a nightmare. He tried to focus, but it was hard with what was going on inside his own mind, or rather Jin's mind.

_Pain seized her, as she looked down to see a sharp object protruding from her stomach. She closed her eyes against the pain, yelling for it to stop. Another struck her, then another. She began gripping them and pulling them out and dropping them to the ground, staring at her assailant unable to move, to defend herself. She fell to her knees pitifully, her black hair falling limply about her face, loosed from its strict ties. Warm liquid flowed in waves over her fingers as she pressed her hands to the wounds. Another hit her, in the shoulder this time then directly in the chest, followed by another in her stomach._

_She gagged on the blood, spitting it out, but it kept coming, through her lips, from her torso. Her reflection taunted her now, showing her the face of a nine-year-old child. Two almost familiar faces stared at her from across the river. Two faces she knew, but couldn't reach. Their eyes were lifeless and suddenly their bodies dropped. She felt her heart wrench._

_Her blood dripped into the pool and sunk slightly, spreading until it was all a stream of the thick red liquid. Others were lying along the side of the blood river, all with blank unseeing black eyes, seeming to search for something, hope for something that wasn't there. Their lips began moving, whispering to gods that were not listening. She knew somehow that they were like her, that they could read and feel. She knew that they were her kind. Slowly black eyes turned to pale blue and a piercing sound filled the air._

_She fell to the side, looking up at a dark sky, stars dancing beautifully in the sky, dancing for them, seeming to be mocking them in the darkness. She smiled, letting herself relax into death as she looked up at the face of the one man she had vowed to kill someday, a face she did not recognize. Behind him stood a green-clad shinobi, arm wrapped around him with a kunai in his fist digging into the evil man's heart. She succumbed to the darkness, the voices easing from her mind, leaving her to a final peaceful silence. She was at rest since the first time she had taken her vow._

_"Arigatou," she whispered aloud with her law breath. "Gai-san."_

Sakura glanced over as Gai stopped behind them. She turned and saw him slide Jin off his back by lowering a shoulder and place her on the branch gingerly as if handling a fragile doll. He stared at her for a moment. He closed his eyes, placing his comically-large hands on either side of her small face and pressing his forehead to hers. Neji watched with as much interest as confusion. He activated his byakuugan and narrowed his eyes. Gai was sending chakra into her mind. He was performing something. It looked like a reader technique. What was he doing?

_Jin opened her eyes, to see someone standing above her. "Sakura-san?" she whispered, the sound of her own voice startling her._

_"We were wondering when you'd come around," she said with a smile. "Your brother went off to train he was so nervous!"_

_"Sounds about right then doesn't it?" Jin murmured, with a small smile. "I thought I was done for."_

_"Not when you still have friends," Sakura said, waving her hand. Shinobi of Konoha stood in lines behind her all looking down at Jin expectantly. Some were faces she didn't know, but they had come. They had saved her. Gai took a step forward and held out a hand. Jin took in and was pulled to her feet._

_"It's finally done then?" she whispered. Gai nodded to her, pulling her arm over his shoulder and carrying most of her weight as they started away from the river, which began to clear of the blood behind them._

Gai leaned back with a triumphant smile, glancing at Neji and Sakura before looking at Jin's peaceful face.

"Gai-sensei? She will be all right?" Neji asked.

"We can stop and I can try to heal some of the damage now if you think it's best," Sakura suggested. Gai's smile widened and he turned slightly towards them winking and giving them a thumbs up.

"She will be perfectly fine!" he exclaimed, enthusiastically. "Let us use all our speed to reach Konoha within the hour!"

"Gai-sensei, it's almost three hours from here, no matter how fast we go!" Sakura said, staring at him like he was crazy.

"We shall make it, Haruno-san! Do not you worry about that!" Gai hoisted Jin up and over his shoulder before taking off in the direction of Konoha. Sakura sighed and followed, she and Neji both wondering what had happened between Jin and Gai. It had to be something, because even Sakura had felt the chakra passing between the two of them.

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	3. Chapter 3

Tsunade looked up as Gai entered, carrying Jin in his arms. She looked from the charts Shizune had been showing her at the front desk to scan the girl quickly. Shizune crossed the hallway in a few moments, opening the door for Gai who did not stop walking. He carried her effortlessly into the next room, waiting patiently as Shizune cleared the hokage's desk quickly. Gai laid the girl down, carefully lowering her head to the hard wood of the desk, her knees bent over the end.

Shizune and Tsunade worked effortlessly together on either side of her body, ensuring there was no serious damage that needed addressing. They looked up at each other once the rapid search was over. Shizune didn't need to be instructed. She stepped to the end of the desk and placed a hand on either side of her head, her face turning to complete concentration as she began to heal some of the damage.

Neji and Sakura stood near the door, silent and uncomfortable. It was never a very comfortable position, standing before ones kage, knowing that one had failed. They looked anywhere but at the imposing woman, both tending to focus more on their ill comrade, but that was difficult as well. She was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. The chakra didn't seem to be making any immediate impact towards waking her up or improving her. It was disconcerting to say the least.

"The scroll?" Tsunade asked in a tight clipped tone as she already knew the answer to that. Her eyes fell squarely on Gai. He was the team's commander and he was the one who had to answer to her.

"Across the border. It is as you feared. Himura Kouji," Gai said. Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"Bastard," she cursed, looking down at Jin's limp body. She walked to Shizune's side, placing her hand just behind the girl's ear. "Where's her seal?" Tsunade questioned her eyes falling squarely on Gai. He was the team's commander and he was the one who had to answer to her.

"It was destroyed, Hokage-sama," Gai said. "I had to manually seal her during the mission. Her body is not reacting well," he noted.

"No, it is not," Tsunade responded with a frown. She lifted the girl's shirt, nodding to Gai to roll her over. The man understood instinctively, stepping forward and rolling her towards him. Shizune was hardly disturbed, her hands moving along with Jin's head.

"Neji, you know Matsu-sensei?" Tsunade asked, not looking his way.

"Yes, hokage-sama," Neji inclined his head, his voice rough with exhaustion. "Tell him her seal was destroyed and he will need to acquire a temporary seal immediately and bring it straight here."

"Himura Kouji. I knew I'd hear that name again," Tsunade grumbled as she crossed the room towards the conference room adjacent. "The third should have dealt with him years ago, the traitorous scum."

"Sakura, I need to speak with you," Tsunade snapped, throwing the door open. Sakura followed quickly.

"Hokage-sama," Gai said, following and placing his hand on the door as Sakura went to close it. Tsunade turned, eyes narrowing.

"Not now Gai," Tsunade said, irritably, turning away from him and walking to a cabinet on the other side of the room. She opened it shuffling through some of the papers inside, looking for something in particular apparently.

"Tsunade-sama," Gai said a bit more forcefully this time.

"What?" she snapped, turning fully to look at him.

"I know what you are not telling me," he said.

"Oh? And what is that?"

"You are afraid to tell me that she should have awakened already because you believe I am not strong enough to handle it," he told her matter-of-factly, his eyes trained squarely on the hokage. Sakura stared at him in surprise, looking at the hokage, seeing that he spoke the truth. "I am not so weak as you believe."

"Weak?" Sakura repeated, certain she'd never heard anyone claim such a thing about Gai. Strange, disconcerting, irritating certainly, but not weak.

"You have been sensitive lately, especially when it comes to Jin," Shizune's voice came from the doorway. Sakura jumped, looking to her friend. She glanced through the door at Jin, but she was silent.

"I was her captain once," was all Gai said in a tone so soft that it was almost a whisper. The hokage was silent. Shizune as well. Sakura knew about Jin's former teammate. Lee had told her about it when she'd been under Sakura's care at the hospital. Had Gai been their captain? Was he himself still grieving? She never would have known. Gai only displayed exuberance and happiness or perhaps she just never looked.

"I know why she is in this state," Gai admitted, his voice strong once more, confident like the Gai-sensei that Sakura knew. "She has achieved something that hasn't been seen since Master Daichi, himself," Gai said. The hokage frowned not understanding, but slowly it dawned on her. Shizune's soft gasp showed that she understood as well.

"Level Three?" Tsunade murmured. "Can she...?"

"She can project," Gai said, glancing back through the door to where the woman laid on the desk still. Sakura decided she didn't want to ask what projecting was, not anymore. It sounded like advanced jutsu and an order secret that was far over her head.

Tsunade shoved past Shizune, walking back into her office. She stood over Jin, bracing herself on the edge of the desk and staring down at the girl. Gai followed. Sakura noticed him place a hand on her arm as soon as he was within reach and exchanged a surprised look with Shizune. "I could never have imagined it. She was always very advanced to fight off Himura when she was a child was... but..." she muttered.

"Why her? She's never shown any enormous amount of ability compared to the others," she commented loudly. The room fell silent, no one having a response to that. "And why'd she choose you?" Tsunade asked suddenly. Gai glanced at her then looked down at Jin.

"I am not convinced she meant to," Gai shrugged.

"No, projecting has to be a conscious act. It's a high-level technique," Tsunade said. "Unless she-" Tsunade went very quiet and very still. A few minutes lapsed and no one interrupted her thoughts, knowing when it was and was not appropriate to disturb the temperamental woman.

"Sakura go start on the mission report. Gai, find Lee and bring him here."

"Hai," the two said in unison, leaving the room. The second Gai's hand left her arm, a frown dawned on Jin's face.

"Now not even I saw that coming, Rock-san," Tsunade said to the unconscious girl, who didn't react of course. With Shizune's help, Tsunade turned her over onto her side, looking at the seal on her lower back closely once more, making certain it would hold before placing a hand to Jin's upper back and sending a jolt of chakra. Jin gasped and coughed a couple times as they turned her back over. She sat up sharply with a groan, Shizune holding her shoulder to keep her upright as well as keep her from standing.

"Projection eh?" Tsunade said walking to stand in front of her, crossing her arms under her large bust. "To Gai...?"

Jin shook weakly, reaching for Tsunade's arm. Tsunade pulled away quickly. "Oh no, tradition or not, you're not using one of your three projections on me." Jin frowned pulling her hand back.

"Why Gai?" Tsunade asked. Jin just stared at her, no emotion, no response. Tsunade didn't expect any more, but to be honest it was still disappointing she didn't get anything at all.

"We'll send an ANBU recon squad into the Earth Country. If he so much as sets a single foot outside of that village, we will know it," Tsunade told her. "We still have two Daichi scrolls and you are going to take them from the library. You will carry them on your person at all times wherever you go, whatever missions you perform. I will explain your situation to Kazuo. Am I to expect a reorganization of the order? The highest level reader is given the decision correct?" Jin nodded stiffly, the very name of her order leader making her irate. Her breaths came in horrid rasps and blood leaked from the corner of her lip. She could taste the coppery liquid on her tongue as she laid back against the desk, glad for Shizune's soft support, despite the litany of musings forcing their way into her mind. She knew the Hokage would say no more so she closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep, allowing the hokage to continue healing.

Jin found she was sick of waking up in the hospital. She turned her head to the side, feeling her hand grasped lightly in a larger one. A fond smile crept to her lips as she saw the dark-haired head of a green-clad shinobi. She squeezed his hand tightly, smiling when he jumped, looking around wildly before his wide eyes settled on her. "Niichan," he said, throwing herself at her. He held her in a tight hug.

"They're all waiting outside the hospital. They've been standing there all day," he whispered in her ear. She held him tighter, knowing exactly who he was talking about. She didn't have time, couldn't have time to recover. It was an important decision, one that she had to make immediately.

"I'll be right behind you," he promised. He held her for a moment before pulling away and reaching to her side table. He grabbed a bundle of perfectly folded clothes and placed them on the bed. She smiled sadly at it, knowing that two men knew her secret now... that she kept her twelve identical shinobi uniforms lined up neatly in her dresser, three to a drawer in each of the four drawers. Knowing him, he'd probably burned her uniform from the last mission and replaced the uniform in her drawer before ever settling at her side.

He cupped her cheek with a small smile. "I know you always looked after me, Jin-chan," he muttered. "Now it's my turn to look after you... no matter how bad it gets. Gai-sensei will be there too. He will be your voice." Jin felt a pang. Lee thought he would not be one of her target projectors. She closed her eyes and drew a long breath.

She let his hand slide from hers as he went to leave the room. She blinked away tears. Could she ever even just... talk to someone? She couldn't even bring herself to project to her brother. The thought of communicating again both thrilled and terrified her. No matter how many times she had wished she could just tell her brother she loved him, no matter how many times she regretted not being able to tell Kaoru everything she'd always wanted to she found herself terrified. It all meant nothing now when she was actually faced with the idea that she'd be able to...

She wasn't ready. No, she wasn't ready and she didn't know when she would be. Inside her in that moment, it felt hopeless like she'd never be able to do it. She couldn't, could she? The burning in her throat intensified. She now knew the feeling of projection, that open feeling that they would know her every thought, that they'd be able to read her as much as she could them. Gai could now. He could feel her emotions at any moment and if she wanted, hear her thoughts as well. Did she want to place the burden of her emotions on her brother as well? Everything in her made her wish she could take it back, make it so Gai would never have to feel it, never again.

She let herself get lost in her meticulous dressing routine, pulling on one layer at a time with the utmost reverence. Every movement was slow and methodical. She had not broken this routine since the day she had become a chuunin. The comfort of at least having this small bit of constancy kept her sane at least. By the time she had pulled her hair back and secured it with her two thin needle-like weapons then tied her hitai-ate across her forehead, she had found an inner peace.

She paused before standing, her brow furrowing. She hadn't heard any of Lee's thoughts, not one. How had that... Gai had projected to her sometime after she had made him a target. When a target projected to the reader, it sent the reader to the next step where involuntary reading happened less and less. She couldn't think of when he had done it... 'My dream,' she thought, understanding suddenly.

She had died in that dream, but then she woke up and everyone had been there; they had saved her. Gai had to have done that. That was the only thing that could have changed that horrible dream's outcome. He would have made an amazing reader, to be able project such detail, a dream that matched with hers so flawlessly that it had not dawned on her until just then that the ending had not been her own. The only difference was that after waking up those bodies had been gone from around her. Perhaps he'd meant for that to happen.

She pulled back the curtain and looked out her second-floor hospital window to see twenty-two shinobi standing in rows. The one in the front wore a long silver robe while five stood behind him in green, Matsu in the center. The last row wore grey. She walked to the door slowly, dragging her feet a bit. Lee and Gai both stood there waiting for her. Their ceremonial robes were familiar to her as she had her own set of green hidden in the back of her closet.

"Took you long enough," said a teasing voice from the side. She turned her head slightly and offered Genma a small smirk.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Gai and Lee took that moment to offer her identical smiles and thumbs up. Genma snorted and she smiled softly. "I shall escort you, Jin-chan!" Lee said loudly. She glanced at Genma, who nodded. '_Tsunade_' she read when she concentrated on him carefully.

She started down the hall, Lee walking at her side. He kept a hand on her elbow. Somehow he knew that she was weaker than she let on. Leaning a bit on him she made her way down the stairs, walking slowly down the hall, nurses stopping in the hall to watch them pass, the younger eyes widening with awe. They knew something important was going on. She glanced back at Gai who gave her an encouraging look. "Can't back out now," Genma told her and she nodded.

Lee pushed the door open in front of her and she stepped out into the light, blinking to adjust quickly. She stood very still as Kazuo-sama walked towards her, no kindness in his pale eyes. She stiffened immediately. "Third Level... impressive," he said, holding out his hand. "You will remember all I have done for you of course?" Her eyes hardened.

His words bit her sharply. She had wanted him to say something like that. It steeled her resolve for what she was about to do as the highest level reader in Konoha. She did not take the offered hand, staring at him coldly

Jin took a step forward, feeling Lee sink back behind her. There was a long pregnant silence as she faced the order leader. She pointed directly over his shoulder never breaking eye contact with Kazuo. Matsu stepped forward, dropping to a knee and pressing his fist to the ground. Kazuo let out a roar of anger, pulling his hands together to form a series of symbols. Jin turned sharply, lowering her stance. She jumped at the order leader, her foot digging into his stomach throwing him back. He began to try to rise. She performed a series of fast hand symbols, bringing her hand down hard on the top of his head. He fell back again, moaning in agony and grief, this time not even attempting to rise.

Genma glanced at Gai who placed a hand to his head, as if something had happened suddenly. Lee smiled and looked at his sister proudly. Jin walked forward and waved her hand to the others, who all knelt down and bowed their head just as Matsu-sensei did the same, understanding the hand motion easily. She then knelt as well, before lowering herself further and pressing her forehead to the cool dirt below. The others followed, save Matsu whose eyes were cast downwards. Her emotions had cued them… but not him. How? It wasn't possible right?

Gai frowned, looking at Jin for a long moment. Genma looked between them quickly. Obviously there was some exchange going on. He could feel chakra practically crackling in the air. "Kimura Matsu stand and let all witness... the rise of Kimura-sama, leader of the Order of Dokushinjutsu and protector of the teachings of Master Daichi," Gai said, his powerful voice sounding through the group.

The relatively young shinobi looked to his right then his left, his messy black hair falling to one side. He looked at Gai in confusion then at Jin or rather the top of Jin's head. He stood slowly as if by some sort of compulsion. The crackling of chakra did not stop. If anything it rose in intensity. Genma and Lee both took a step back as a powerful chakra grew around Jin. It flowed forward and Matsu braced himself, the chakra engulfing him completely. He gritted his teeth and the chakra began to sink into him, straight through his skin. He held his ground however. When he looked up his eyes flashed the same icy blue that had dawned in Jin's eyes when her seal had been broken.

The crackling chakra ebbed away and Jin slowly rose, walking forward to Matsu-sensei. She looked past him when one of the first level readers spoke.

"Thirty-two years old and we thought it would never come," a voice said from the larger group of shinobi in grey. She smiled at Matsu's stunned look, holding her hand to him. He looked at her strangely then took it. She pulled him into a short hug. A look passed between the two powerful readers.

'_You may not have reached the third level, Matsu-sensei, but you were born for this, for this very moment_,' Jin thought to herself, hoping it was conveyed through her eyes.

'_Why not you_?' she heard him wonder. She took a gentle hold of his shoulders and moved him back to where he had been standing before. She walked to where Lee stood and pulled him forward a few steps then took exactly half the steps between them, turning to half-face Matsu, glancing at Lee then at Matsu once more. She pointed to herself then the ground below her. She gave him a cheeky grin before clasping her hands behind herself and walking away from all of them a new sureness to her step. She belonged there, between them. That was what she was telling him.

She felt cleansed. Her face was set, solemn and firm. It felt as if everything was now possible. She would avenge her parents, retrieve the stolen scroll and even if she didn't return from such a mission when the hokage received more information, the fate of the order was now in good hands, the best hands in fact, a true believer in the way of Dokushinjutsu. No matter what it took even if it took her own life, she would get that scroll back for Matsu: her teacher, her comrade, her childhood friend. He had begun teaching her when she was six, when he was still a child himself at fourteen and now they stood, the leaders of the order.

Feeling more sure of herself than she had in weeks, Jin walked with her head held high, ignoring the whispers that followed her through the village. There wasn't a smile on her face, nor were there tears in her eyes. A fiercer determination than she had ever known was born in her the moment she had established where she stood, between konoha shinobi and the order. Kaoru would be proud of her as would Jiro. Their memory would live on even if she had to personally make sure of it.

Her feet took her down familiar walkways and alleys until she found herself before a polished black stone. She looked at the back of a silver-haired shinobi. He turned his head slightly upon her approach. "Rock-san," he muttered, stance not changing a millimeter.

"You are here for Kaoru-san?" he said softly.

She offered a sad smile walking up beside him and putting her hands in her pockets. She lowered her shoulders and they stood there, both staring at their friends' names on the stone. One of the freshest names drew her attention quickly, but then her eyes wandered the familiar path to the friend she had lost almost four years ago now.

She and Kakashi were both very still, both lost in thoughts of the people they had lost, people who had been taken away from them. It was the life of the shinobi though. By now, they both knew that. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, but shinobi died every day. The circumstances behind that death though. Those were the things to ponder and so they did. Two shinobi who hardly knew each other beyond a few routine missions and a couple mutual friends, relaxed into companionable silence before the stone that bore the names of the shinobi who had defined their lives, the shinobi that had shaped the village in which they lived today and had shaped who they had become.

Jin spent the next few days before the dark polished stone, hardly able to even draw herself away. Genma had pulled her away for lunch and Lee tried to convince her to come with him to train. She had for a while, but afterwards she'd been drawn back to this place. Shinobi came and went, few not having at least one friend whose name was etched into the immortal stone. She hadn't had a chance to grieve Kaoru and even though she knew there were a lot of changes going on with her order, that everyone was looking to her to help Matsu rebuild, she needed to be selfish for once at least for a little while.

Jin stood before the stone, her shoulders slumped slightly as she contemplated the possibility of reincarnation. She had never really had solid beliefs on what happened to shinobi when they died, but life after death had always seemed like such a childish hope to her. Her heart wanted to believe in something, some higher power, but she never could bring herself to embrace any such beliefs.

The most important lesson for a Konoha Shinobi was learning of the will of fire. Though taught from a young age, it took more than stories for someone to truly understand its meaning. Gai had been the one to truly help her understand it. She'd been fourteen when Jiro had died, and she'd thrown herself into training, cutting herself off from everything, from everyone. She'd even managed to push Lee away for a time, but Lee had done the only thing he could think of, pleaded with his new sensei to help his sister because above all others she respected Maito Gai and Lee knew that.

Gai had explained to her that losing friends was no reason to not have them. He had taught her that love was what made people strong, shown her that Jiro's love for her had made him strong and that she was stronger for having loved him once.

It felt like months had passed in those few days and by the time Jin stood before the hokage, she found herself confident in the knowledge that she was ready for the world as a third level reader. Stashed away on her person were the most important scrolls that had ever been written on the art of dokushinjutsu. She had not yet attempted to open them, half afraid that she would not be able to, but that was for her to do when she was ready. No one, not even the hokage could pressure her to try to attempt it before she felt right in doing so.

"The Hyuuga have invited you to the annual festival. You will attend, preferably with Matsu," Tsunade said. Jin's eyes narrowed and she sat in the chair before the hokage, back straight hands clenched before her.

"While normally I would require you to dress more formally, you will be allowed to remain in your shinobi uniform throughout the festivities, only because I do not want to put the scrolls at risk. Please, at least wear the colors suitable to one of your rank at least." Jin nodded, knowing she meant for her to wear the colors of a third level as the second level readers invited would wear green, the first grey, and Matsu-sensei would wear silver. "Also, you must assure me, however, you will attempt to at least enjoy yourself." Jin nodded tightly, not sure she could do something like that at a festival. She would rather be training, improving. She really needed to find time for these scrolls. "As Matsu has explained to me, you are now on a very tight schedule."

Jin frowned, her hands shaking as she waited for the hokage to say it. Matsu-sensei had brought her attention to it as well and she found herself a bit nauseated to think of it again. She closed her eyes, steadying herself.

Since Kaoru's death and the first thought she had read, her life had felt like an unbalanced roller coaster ride, forcing her onward whether she wanted it or not. She was just waiting to be flung off the edge of a faulty track. The circumstances that faced a third-level reader were so rare that one had to look back to rules and customs that predated the existence of Konoha itself, but Matus-sensei as the former keeper of the books was damn thorough and she found herself in this moment regretting her decision on a rather petty level.

"The heir clause," Tsunade said, a perverse look in her eyes as she watched Jin for any spark of recognition, but Jin schooled her features in a look of perfect calm. She even managed to steady her hands. "You know what this is do you not?" Jin simply stared, not indicating one way or the other.

"When were you going to tell your hokage?" Tsunade asked, obviously Jin's indifference indicated to the hokage that she did know exactly what that was. "You understand the importance of such a clause for a shinobi in your position, a kunoichi. It was not as much of a problem I assume for Master Daichi to handle decades ago since he would not be the one with child."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she watched the kunoichi before her close up again something she was apt to do with little or no provocation. "Jin-san, one year is not so very long as you might believe. If you don't follow the order's laws, you will have your power stripped, whether you gave the leadership to your sensei or not. He will have no choice. You are in a terrible position but it is something you're going to have to face."

Jin nodded, stiffly. "Do you have any idea who you might be able to..." Tsunade trailed off, thoroughly uncomfortable. "Genma perhaps?"

Jin fixed her with an icy glare that in any other situation would have had Tsunade ready to dish out a serious punishment for insubordination, but right now, she couldn't do something like that, not when they were talking about something so outside the power of the uncomfortable hokage.

"Well, as of yet we've received only one message from the squad we've placed in the Earth Country, but they have not yet identified the target or the scroll. They can feel it though, yours I mean." She nodded, knowing the hokage was referring to the two second level readers she'd sent with two chuunin. One of the readers was the special chuunin leading the operation and she knew he would send out a message the moment he learned anything. She had the utmost faith in her comrades. They knew what they were doing and he was now the eldest active member of the order, at thirty-four. Most order shinobi, when they retired gave up the vow of silence and severed their connections to the order.

"I will let you leave, but please attend with Matsu. I'll be embarrassed enough, allowing you to wear your shinobi jacket and tools to a clan festival," Tsunade said, rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming on.

Jin stood, stepping to the desk and holding her hand out to the hokage who frowned not drawing away though instinct told her to do so. Jin performed a single, strange hand symbol then placed two fingers of her right hand to the center of the hokage's forehead. The hokage felt a flow of chakra lesson the tension and her headache melted away leaving not even the slightest discomfort. Jin pushed her hands into the pockets of her black pants, walking from the room with her head lowered, eyes closed, allowing her other senses to guide her.

"She is improving at an impressive rate," Tsunade mused, wondering how long it would take until she was one of the top village jounin. It couldn't be too long. She had been mediocre jounin before, always the most powerful of her order, though. Now, however, her affinity for empathy jutsu was more understandable. She was born to be a third level. Tsunade wouldn't be surprised if she was the reason Lee had never been able to perform jutsu. She had sucked her parents dry of chakra. When she had been born, Hyuuga Hiashi had commented on the immediate, unordinary flow of chakra from both parents into the child. Such records were kept in the hokage's office and Shizune had trudged them up when she had begun to learn more about Rock Jin.

Tsunade sighed. Her work never ended, she thought gloomily as she looked upon the large stack of papers on her desk, instead opening a drawer and pulling out a large bottle of sake. She'd enjoy this day as much as possible, until Shizune got back from the hospital to ruin it.

Jin made her way through the streets, eyes closed, breathing unsteady. Her hands were in her pockets but a certain calm was escaping her. Matsu-sensei had had a stronger seal made for her, and the comfort of having the more reliable seal on her ear rather than the weaker one against her back had brought her to a relaxed state for a few hours, but the news about the heir clause had ruined all of that. Suddenly she felt someone running directly for her. She opened her eyes as she felt the speed increase and lowered to a defensive position, relaxing only when she saw a familiar head of pink hair that could only mean Haruno Sakura.

"Jin-senpai," she said quick respectful bow, worried look in her eyes.

She nodded her head in response, waiting for the girl to speak again, because there was no doubt she would. She could feel the girl's thoughts whirling wildly, pressing at Jin even as she held them back. She was becoming quite proficient at controlling her ability to keep people's thoughts at bay as long as she were not in physical contact with her. Sakura's feelings however were so conflicted, humor and worry mixed together... a very strange combination.

"Lee-san asked me to help him find you. He said you're needed at Gai's apartment, something has happened to him," Sakura told her, frantically. Jin's gaze sharpened immediately. The conflict in Sakura's emotions no longer bothering her. She could think of nothing past, 'Gai is in danger...' She took off from the ground hard, disturbing the stone beneath her.

Her foot caught the top of a roof and she pushed onwards, heading with with all speeds towards Gai's home. She could feel Sakura trying to catch up but didn't care. The world around her blurred as she caught sight of Gai's apartment complex ahead. She landed at the door not a pause before she opened the door and pushed in. Confusion overcame her as she saw the room crowded with people, many she knew, some she merely recognized vaguely. She sought Gai through the crowd to see a huge grin on his face, Lee beside him wearing a matching smile.

'_What is_…' she thought, confused eyes locking on Gai, who chuckled.

"Happy birthday Niichan," Lee said, walking forward to embrace her.

She blinked in surprise. She had forgotten her birthday? A smile formed on her face. But they had not. They had remembered it, but she knew that Lee was horrible at remembering such things. She looked over Lee's shoulder to scan the group in the large apartment. Her eyes fell on Gai, who had slunk back to the back of the group clamoring to wish her good luck and happy twenty-second.

She endured the pleasantries with a warm smile, but began to feel a bit suffocated as they all closed in around her. Her head throbbed as thoughts from anyone who came in contact with her forced their way into her head. Suddenly a hand came down upon her shoulder and all thoughts were washed away, all the feelings that had been bearing down on her replaced with one simple warm one. She glanced up at Gai who smiled at her, while a voice behind him suggested everyone eat before it got cold. '_Kakashi_,' she realized.

"Best wishes for your birthday, Jin-senpai," a girl said. Jin looked at her, and smiled. She would rather not let Gai know that she had not even remembered her birthday so she guarded her thoughts from him carefully as she looked at the pink-haired girl who had lured her here. "We knew saying Gai was in trouble would have you running," Sakura laughed.

"I came up with it actually," Kakashi's voice echoed in the room, but didn't draw too much attention Jin's cheeks reddened, and her eyes narrowed at the silver-haired man as he walked up. Kakashi raised his hand, nose still in his Icha Icha book.

"Only natural since he's your only target, eh Jin-san?" he asked, idly. He glanced at her, with that all-knowing eye and her anger nearly boiled over. Her right hand became a fist and she glared at him fiercely. "You have to protect him with your life or you lose your voice, don't you? I don't know though, why you would use so much chakra to get to a place within moments of Sakura leaving. That certainly is devotion... to your order of course."

Her anger and embarrassment rose to new limits. What exactly was he getting at? He hardly knew her. They didn't exactly spend their free time together, barely interacted outside of missions and the occasional sulk together by the stone that bore the names of their fallen comrades. She took a threatening step towards him, her eyes blazing. She could take him down, she could. Even if she did lose in a fight, she could at least hurt him... a lot especially since the subject of their conversation would undoubtedly join her over his rival.

"I heard about that order problem you were having. Perhaps you could ask Gai to help you with that," Kakashi suggested, turning the page in his book, calmly.

That was the last straw for Jin. She lunged for him, but he stepped aside smoothly. She spun hard, her fist met a substitution which was one of Gai's couch cushions as he poofed out. She caught sight of him about ten feet away and let out a roar of anger, running at him again, kicking hard. He caught her foot and gave her a challenging smirk, his book away in a flash. She punched at him and he caught her small fist in his own hand spinning her and throwing her back. She slammed into Lee who fell to the ground under her weight, but she didn't mind him much. He'd live. She ran on fury now and Kakashi had been the one to provoke her in any case.

"Jin!" Gai's authoritative voice broke through her consciousness, filling her mind powerfully, more so than her ears, reverberating through her whole body. She stopped on a dime, fists clenched and eyes dancing with fire. She looked over at him to see the confusion on his face, looking once more at Kakashi. There was a long moment of silence before Jin suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. She sat on Gai's couch, and leaned back and for the first time in the weeks since Kaoru's death, she just laughed. Kakashi's triumphant smirk let her know that that had been his true goal from the start. He had only wanted to make her laugh.

So she sat there, laughing until she cried. Lee, Gai, and the rest of the people there simply stared at her like she was crazy including a few of her Reader friends… but Kakashi wasn't staring. Kakashi went right back to his book, a smile in his one uncovered eye, slight crinkle to his mask. He was one great man that Kakashi fellow, yet he managed to hide it so well sometimes.

She reached out a hand to Gai and he frowned, stepping forward and pulling her to her feet. His shock faded when he felt the jolt of happiness from her. She walked past him her hand sliding gingerly from his. She came to the small counter laden with food and drink and poured herself a glass of sake. She raised it to Kakashi with a giggle before downing it.

"Niichan, you don't drink sake!" Lee exclaimed, clenching his fist before him. She smiled at him, but didn't reply otherwise. Lee gaped at her, while Kakashi smirked knowing that no matter what her brother thought, she could certainly hold her liquor. He wondered at that. She was quite a strange kunoichi, Rock Jin, though it wasn't far off with the brother she had.

Kakashi's smile faded. She really did have a lot on her plate. To think that she'd have it much better if she'd never read Gai's thoughts. Kakashi glanced at Gai who was challenging Jin to a spar later that week. Kakashi shook his head. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was the best thing that ever happened to her, to them both. He shrugged glad at least that he wasn't being involved in Gai's antics for once.

Thanks to both of my readers for your reviews and follows firstly, but also for coming back again and again as I post new stories. It doesn't go unnoticed. You are great for my motivation.


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